Bachmann gaining ground in N.H. poll

Representative Michele Bachmann, a Minnesota Republican, speaks at a meeting in Raymond, N.H., on June 28, the day after she formally launched her bid for the White House. Emmanuel Parisse/AFP/Getty

By Matt Viser

July 6, 2011

1 minute to read

WASHINGTON – Representative Michele Bachmann has rapidly gained ground in a new poll of New Hampshire voters, tapping her popularity with Tea Party activists and potentially causing problems for Republican front-runner Mitt Romney.

The former Massachusetts governor, who has long dominated polls in the Granite State, had his lead cut to single-digits in a new survey done by Public Policy Polling. Although polls taken six months before voters head to the polls can be unreliable, they can also provide a window into a volatile Republican electorate.

Bachmann, a Minnesota Republican, would get 18 percent of the vote, according to the poll. That is far higher than the 4 percent she got when the firm polled in April.

In the latest poll, she trailed 7 points behind Romney, who would get 25 percent of the vote. Former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is the only other candidate polling in double digits, with 11 percent.

Bachmann leads all of her rivals among voters who identify themselves as members of the Tea Party movement, with 25 percent of the vote. Romney and Palin each got 16 percent. About a third of primary voters said they considered themselves “members of the Tea Party,’’ according to the survey.

“Romney has the advantage,’’ Dean Debnam, president of Public Policy Polling, said in a statement. “But his small lead in friendly territory suggests that his frontrunner status is vulnerable.’’

The poll of 341 Republican primary voters was conducted from June 30 to July 5, although no interviews were conducted on July 3 or 4. The margin of error for the survey was 5.3 percent.